Festive Tenderness
by Dreamer Boy
Summary: It's Christmas Eve. Sora and Kairi each discover a letter sent to them from Riku, asking them to go down to the Secret Place for a Christmas party. Neither of them have any idea that the bond between them is about to change forever - or that this is to be a Christmas they'll never forget. Christmas SoKai one-shot.


**Hello, guys! Here's my Christmas story for this year. It's a brand new Kingdom Hearts one - which is a SoKai one. This is my Christmas present to fall you fans of Sora and Kairi out there. I hope you like it. :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. It belongs to Square Enix.**

* * *

Sora was standing in his living room, staring at a small note in his hand, which he'd just found in his mailbox. The envelope he'd torn open to get it out of was sitting on a nearby table. With mixed thoughts running through his head, he ran his eyes over the handwriting scrawled on it, reading its message for a third time.

_Hey Sora,_

_Since it's our first Christmas since we got back to the islands, I've planned for us to have a little party in the Secret Place. I thought it would be a really awesome thing for us to do. I've written to Kairi as well to ask her to come. Can't have a party without her now, can we?_

_Can you come down there this evening at five? I've arranged everything we need in the cave, so all you have to bring is yourself. I hope you will turn up, since I have a feeling this'll be a party you won't forget..._

_See ya soon, buddy!_

_Riku_

A slightly baffled look was on Sora's face. He was a little puzzled by the decisions Riku had been taking. For one thing, why had he decided to tell him about this party he'd arranged - through a handwritten message? The silver-haired boy often turned up at his house or telephoned him if he needed to tell him something, but never before had he written him a note and sent it to him through the mail. Another thing he couldn't understand was why he was holding this party in the Secret Place. Although it was a very special place to themselves and Kairi, since they had spent many of their childhood days playing inside it, Sora thought there were better places to have a party than within the dingy walls of the cave. It would especially be awkward over the fact Riku had written in the note that he'd arranged what they needed inside it, so there were obviously going to be some items in the cave, taking up what little space there was.

In spite of his friend's strange choice of where to hold his party, it did not stop excitement from beginning to build up inside Sora. The thought of having a little party with his friends sounded like it would be a heap of fun, and he wasn't going to let anything hold him back from attending. They would surely have a great laugh by celebrating the approaching holiday inside a place from their infancy. Most of all, Riku had confirmed in the note that he'd asked someone very precious to Sora to come along.

Kairi. How terribly Sora had missed her while he'd been away from Destiny Islands - and how painfully his heart had secretly ached for her, too. Even though six months had passed since he'd been reunited with her, his emotions still always lifted whenever he thought of her. Not as much, however, as whenever he would see her for real. Sora highly treasured any time he would spend around the beautiful, red-haired Princess of Heart, so to turn down the offer of going to a party which she would probably be at was out of the question.

"Mom!" he called out. "Can I go hang out with Riku and Kairi this evening?"

"Alright, Sora!" his mother called back from the kitchen. "But make sure you wrap up nice and warmly! It's freezing out there!"

Sora gazed out of the lounge window. His eyes were met with a pure white colour, which he'd seen a lot of since the first week of the month. The islands had been hit with gentle snowfalls throughout the month. Thick snow covered the ground, trees and house roofs outside like icing on a cake. It had showed no signs of melting away yet - and as the date was now the twenty-forth of December, it was clear that everyone on the islands was in for a white Christmas.

Smiling to himself, Sora peered up at the clock on the wall. The time was now quarter past ten. There was still over six hours to go before it was time he was to meet this friends at the cave. But he wished they would go by quickly so that he could head over there and meet Kairi.

"Okay, Mom!" he shouted. Then he dropped the note onto the table and swung around to head for the stairs, preparing to hunt in his room for his rarely-used winter clothing.

* * *

Standing on the snow-covered wooden dock of the smaller island, Kairi lifted her hand to take another puzzled look at the note Riku had sent her that morning. It was similar to the one he'd delivered to Sora; it explained to her that he was planning for them to have a Christmas party in the Secret Place that evening, he wanted her to attend and he'd written to Sora to invite him as well.

Without realizing it, Kairi was just as bewildered as Sora had been over their friend's choice of where to hold a party. At the same time, however, she was greatly enthusiastic over the idea. A wide, delighted smile was on her face while her mind contained the pleasant thought of celebrating Christmas with her two best friends. Last Christmas had been very difficult to get through. It had been impossible for Kairi to enjoy it without the boys being on the islands, and it didn't help that her memories of Sora had been interfered with by Naminé, leaving her struggling to remember him. Now that the boys were home, Kairi was highly certain this Christmas was going to be much happier for her. She was more than willing to do anything with them - which included having a party with them in a cave.

Kairi lowered her hand holding the note, then brushed away one of her red locks that was hanging in front of her eye. Her face was glowing in happiness. She was still very ecstatic to have Sora and Riku back, no matter how much time had passed since they had returned. She had not taken one second she'd spent with them since they'd come home for granted. So she was going to make the most of the party they were about to have - especially since she would be in the company of the one she secretly loved.

As she walked along the dock with the snow it was coated in crunching under her feet, Kairi thought of how badly she'd missed Sora while he'd been away. Her heart had been in so much agony since the day he'd left her. Going through each day, wondering when he was going to come home, had been the most unbearable challenge of her life. But no matter how difficult it had been, she'd refused to give up hope, for she knew Sora would keep his promise to return to her, as he had done so six months ago.

Kairi treaded up the ramp at the rear of the dock which lead her onto the level of ground that was a few feet higher than the sand on the beach. She slipped the note into a deep pocket on the thick, pink winter jacket she'd put on before leaving her house. She was also wearing a pair of woollen red mittens on her hands while a matching winter hat was pulled down on her head. The extra clothing protected her from the icy cold air that filled the atmosphere of the islands. As she turned right and started to march in the direction of the waterfall, she gazed out towards the beach. It was very unusual to see the yellow of the sand had been replaced entirely by the white of thick snow. The trees, the wooden shack and the miniature island had been covered in it, too. Though it made the place look very different, Kairi still found it to be very beautiful. One thing that hadn't changed was the endless lapping of the waves. The erupting noise they gave off filled the whole island as they cascaded onto the shore. Far out in the horizon, the sun was slowly sinking out of view, leaving the sky in a broad orange colour that was reflected in the ocean.

"It'll be five o'clock now," Kairi murmured to herself, remembering what the time had been when she had left her house fifteen minutes ago. "The boys might be already in the cave."

Turning away from the beach, she found she had walked right up to the waterfall. She stood before it and watched the great big showers of water thunder into the small pool that awaited it below. The water was always freezing cold, even in warm weather, but Kairi wondered just how much colder it was in the weather they were going through now.

The thought quickly faded from her mind, however, as she turned her attention away from it. She gazed towards the cliffside that was right next to her. In the summer, there would often be a large pack of leaves growing there, concealing away the tiny hole that led into the Secret Cave. But now that winter had arrived, the leaves had died and fallen away, leaving the hole much easier to be seen.

Beaming down at it, Kairi rubbed her mitten-covered hands together. Today, the tiny hole was to serve as an entranceway to a party. She could hardly to crawl through it and meet up with the love of her life inside the cave, as well as find out what Riku had been doing inside it.

"Sora and party," she said happily to herself, "here I come!"

* * *

It seemed to be colder inside the Secret Place than it was outside. While lovely and crisp out in the open world, the air within the dark, murky walls was frigid and biting. Kairi hugged herself. She'd just crawled her way through the tiny hole at the front of the cave, and was now marching swiftly down the narrow tunnel. She could feel goosebumps popping up over her body. Whatever Riku had brought along for the party, she hoped there would be something to keep them warm while they were inside the chilled cave.

"Sora!" she called out. "Riku! Are you here?!"

There was no answer. The only sound to fill the cave was her own footsteps. Kairi's eyebrows raised with bemusement. She'd been expecting to hear the boys from the other end of the tunnel, but there wasn't so much as a chuckle to be heard from them. Not a single trace of either of their voices could be heard in the air.

As Kairi rounded the last bend in the tunnel, she froze to a stop when she saw the wide, circular space at the end, her face scrunching into a frown.

Not only were Sora and Riku not there, but neither was any evidence that they were having a party. The end of the cave looked exactly the same as it did every day of the year. There was no party food stored anywhere or any Christmas decorations hanging up. The only dressing up that had been done to the cave had been the chalk drawings they had scribbled on the walls years ago.

Puzzled, Kairi stepped out into the empty open space. She gazed around to take in how bare it was. Riku had written in his note to her that he had arranged everything they need for their party. She'd been expecting to find the cave brightened up with colourful tinsel and garland, and maybe even a little Christmas tree in one corner. She'd also wondered if there would be a table with party food spread out on it and a CD player to fill the air with Christmas music. But it seemed Riku hadn't made any effort to make the place look festive for their party, even though his note had hinted he had.

Unless he would be bringing along everything he needed when he would arrive. Perhaps decorating the cave was something they were all going to do together for a bit of fun. As to why Riku wasn't there, maybe that was simply because Kairi just happened to be the first to arrive. Hopefully, Riku would be there in a short while, as would Sora.

_Sora! _With the thought of the boy she loved inside her mind, Kairi smiled softly to herself. She turned her attention towards one of the chalk drawing that had been scribbled on the cave wall. Treading over to where it was, she dropped to her knees and placed her hand gently upon it, feeling her heart fluttering inside of her.

It was the drawing she and Sora had made together when they were both five, but had made alterations to over a year ago. With their tiny hands and a piece of chalk each, they had drawn one another's heads. They had always stood out on the dark cave wall, facing each other with smiles on their faces. What had been added to the drawing when they were both fourteen was an arm for them each, both reaching out towards the other, holding a star shape that was supposed to be a Paopu Fruit.

Kairi's gaze softened as she thought back to when she had first seen the alteration Sora had made to their picture. It had been straight after he had left her on the islands so he could go on his quest to find Riku and King Mickey. Upon seeing that he'd updated their picture so that it looked like he was giving her the special fruit that eternally bound together two people it was shared between, she'd been driven to shed a tear. It had also led hear to make her own modification to it so that it looked like she was doing the same to him. She took in the picture fondly, wishing with all her heart she could tell Sora how she felt and be in a relationship with him.

"Hello?! Riku?! Kairi?!"

Kairi jumped upwards in fright over hearing the voice of the boy she'd been thinking about thunder through the cave. She turned with a startled look towards the tunnel entrance, realizing he would be coming through it in a few seconds. Scrambling to her feet, she quickly darted backwards away from the drawing, not wanting Sora to know she'd just been admiring it.

"Anyone there?!"

"I am, Sora!" Kairi called out. She was now standing in the centre of the circular space, waiting with a grin for the boy she loved to stride into view.

The soft sound of footsteps could be heard from the tunnel. It managed to lift Kairi's excitement up intensely as it reached her ears. It wasn't long before a familiar figure emerged from the tunnel. He was wearing a thin, light brown coat with a pair of thick white earmuffs on his head. Standing in the circular space that the tunnel had led him to, his blue eyes locked onto Kairi while the smile on his face widened.

"Hey, Kairi," he said.

"Hey, Sora." Kairi beamed brightly up at him for a moment, then she let out a soft giggle as she raised a hand to gesture around at the empty space that surrounded her. "Welcome to the party!"

Sora's gaze fell away from her, his grin disappearing when he saw that the cave was looking as normal as always. He was very puzzled to see there were no decorations or party food, as the girl before him had been.

"Party?" he exclaimed, turning to face Kairi again, his smile returning. "Doesn't look like much of one, does it?"

"Tell Riku that, not me!" Kairi laughed. "He's the one who made us come down here, telling us he had everything arranged!" She tilted her head, gazing up at the boy. "Did he write that to you as well?"

"He did!" Sora snickered. "'I've arranged everything we need in the cave' were his exact words! Well, whatever he's put in here must be invisible!"

Kairi giggled.

"Where is Mr Party Animal, anyway?" Sora asked.

"I dunno. He hasn't arrived here yet. Maybe when he comes along, he'll bring everything we need for this party. I think he wants the three of us to set it up together."

As Kairi turned away, taking in the cave walls she believed she was going to be hanging tinsel from, Sora's smile softened. His eyes were fixed onto the magnificent sight in front of him. The extra clothing she'd put on to keep herself warm couldn't conceal how beautiful she was. Sora could feel his hearting beat rapidly over how wonderful it felt to be in Kairi's presence. He was so thankful to be with her again after being distant from her for over a year.

The girl returned her attention to him, her grin widening when she saw he was smiling towards her in silence. "What?"

"Nothing." Sora treaded forward to stand right in front of her. "I was just thinking of how happy I am to be back with you.

Kairi blushed softly, moved by the boy's touching words towards her. She knelt down before him on the ground, beaming up at him with her eyes twinkling. "I'm happy to have you back with me as well."

"I really missed you while I was away," Sora said, stooping down before her.

"I really missed you, too." Kairi's tone had changed. It had gone softer and sounded to Sora as if it was filling with sadness. Her eyes dropped to the ground while her smile disappearing from her face. "You have no idea what it was like for me each day, waiting here for you to come back, wondering where you were and praying you were alright."

Seeing how sad she now was had brought Sora's mood down also. He frowned gloomily at her, hating to see the one he loved in misery. "Was me being away really that hard for you?" he asked.

"Of course it was." Kairi lifted her sullen look for her eyes to meet his again. "How could I just carry on my life as normal without my best friend in the universe being here, not knowing when he was gonna come home?"

"I'm sorry, Kairi." Sora reached out and placed his hand gently onto her shoulder. He felt terrible for all the anguish he'd put her through while he'd been away. "I _had_ to leave you here, though, because I knew you'd be perfectly safe here."

"I know, Sora." Kairi smiled at him sadly. "I really appreciate that you wanted me to be safe. You're the most protective person I know."

The girl's words made Sora's lips twitch into a tiny smile. He ran his thumb gingerly over her shoulder, wanting to drive away her distress and make her happy again.

"You know what it was that kept me going through my journey?" he asked softly.

Blinking back tears, Kairi shook her head at him slowly. "No, what?"

"You," Sora said simply. "It was the thought of you that kept driving me on, making me want to complete my journey so I could return to you."

Kairi blinked again, this time in surprise. What Sora had just told her took her aback - and sounded a little too touching to be sincere. She shook her head at him. "No ... that's not true. You're just making that up to make me feel better."

"No, I'm not. Honest," Sora said earnestly. His face fell as he reached down to grasp Kairi's hand tightly in his. "Coming back to you was what I wanted more than anything. You were on my mind as I was fighting Heartless and protecting the worlds. It was you more than anything else that made me want to get through the challenges I faced - so that I could keep my promise to return to you."

The speed Kairi's heart was beating at began to increase, happiness building up inside it as a sparkling grin spread across her face. "Really?"

"Oh yes." Sora nodded. "And so that I could bring back your lucky charm to you, too. I promised you I'd return that as well, remember?"

With all the sadness she'd just been going through now erased by her trustworthy hero's moving words, Kairi threw herself onto him, ecstatically wrapping her arms around him. She propped her head against the side of his, not noticing the stunned look she'd brought to his face. She rested her chin down on his shoulder, her eyes closing while her face glowed brightly.

"I do remember," she murmured blissfully, "and you kept both promises to me."

A wide smile found its way onto Sora's face as he embraced her back securely. He could feel himself slightly trembling in his happiness - as he often did whenever he shared a hug with Kairi.

As the girl relaxed contentedly in his arms, she opened her eyes and peered upwards - before suddenly letting off an astounded gasp.

"What?! What's the matter?!" Sora cried. Hearing her gasp made him instantly pull away from her, facing her with alarm. He could see she was staring with an agape, flabbergasted expression up towards the cave roof above them. He hardly hesitated to peer up with his widened eyes to find out what had put her in a staggered state.

He spotted it immediately, and it did not fail to make his body freeze up, leaving him as dumbfounded as she was.

Hanging above them from one of the rocks that made the cave roof, held onto it by a piece of tape across its stem, was a piece of plant that Sora and Kairi had no trouble identifying.

"I-It's a...a..." Sora stammered, lowering his gaze for his disbelieving eyes to meet Kairi's equally wide and astonished ones. "It's a _mistletoe!_"

"A mistletoe!" Kairi felt her cheeks burning up as they began to turn red. She shot another stumped glance up at the tiny plant which dangled overhead, then once again faced the shocked boy who was beneath it with her. "And we're under it together!"

Sora's face went white in his growing battlement. He could feel butterflies dancing in his stomach over what Kairi had just said, which he couldn't believe was true. He peered up towards the piece of mistletoe for a second time. Never before had he expected to be underneath one with Kairi - because they both know what they had to do if one was to be held above them. As much as he badly wanted to share such a wonderful action with her, he was certain she would never want to carry out with him.

He quickly decided it would be best not to bring up what mistletoes were supposed to make people do. "Er...I-I wonder how whoever put that up m-managed to get it up there?" he stammered. "They must've used a ladder or something t-t-to reach-"

"Shh..."

Sora ceased his hurried, frantic speaking. He dropped his gaze to the girl who had just silenced him. He saw that she was still looking very rattled. His stomach twitched in his nervousness, a knot tightening up inside of it.

Kairi swallowed, afraid of how Sora was going to react to the words she couldn't restrain herself from saying to him. "When two people ... are under a mistletoe ... they have to ... k-k-"

"_Kiss?_" Sora finished for her tensely.

Kairi's cheeks instantly went a deeper shade of red, almost perfectly matching her hair. She quickly covered the lower half of her face with her hands. She didn't want Sora to see her blushing over the word he had said - though she couldn't help nodding shyly to let him know he was right.

Sora could feel his own cheeks burning up intensely. He was overwhelmed with terror over the situation he was in with Kairi. He remained fixed rigidly where he was, expecting the girl to scramble away from him. His mind was conquered by the dominating thought that she wouldn't want to be under a mistletoe with him - until he saw she was making no effort to move.

With some of the fear in his eyes changing into surprise, Sora's tensed-up expression softened a little. He realized that Kairi was not desperate to get away from him while he was under the mistletoe. He was still absolutely terrified, though, due to the question he was about to ask her which he could feared would drive her away. He was the most frightened he'd ever been in his life - but he couldn't hold the question inside him.

"Then..." he murmured timidly, "should we...k-k-kiss?"

What the boy had just asked her made Kairi's eyes widen. She felt a burst of elation go off inside her heart as it hammered rapidly inside her. Just as she lowered her hands from her face - revealing how red her cheeks had become - she saw that Sora was slowly leaning towards her. Without trying to stop herself, she began to lean herself towards him, too. It felt as though he was a giant magnet, using its powerful force to pull her in closely.

"Yes..." she answered him in a whisper, closing her eyes. "I believe we...should..."

Still slanting his body towards her, Sora shut his own eyes as his face drew nearer to hers. Their lips parted while the space between them grew shorter - ending up disappearing completely as they finally crashed into each other. Their first kiss of their lives had begun, and it felt absolutely wonderful. Already enjoying it to the maximum, they wrapped their arms tightly around one another. Their hands found their way to the back of each other's heads, which they gently pushed against to deepen their kiss. Both their hearts were racing intensely. Never before had either of them felt so happy. They remained locked passionately together, exchanging their undying love for one another through their joined lips.

When they finally did pull away, the first sound they both made was an loud gasp each. They broke their embrace and traded gaping looks, realizing they'd _both _been blushing while they'd kissed. Kairi began to tremble. She'd loved every second of what she'd just shared with Sora, but now she was at a complete loss of what to say or do next.

Sora, on the other hand, knew exactly what he was going to say. "Kairi ... I have something to tell you..."

Kairi's eyes widened again, her face lighting up.

Sora could feel his nerves tensing up wildly in his stomach. The terror he'd just been going through from was coming back to him. He frowned anxiously. What he was about to tell Kairi was something he'd always been reluctant to let her know, but there was no way he could keep it a secret anymore after sharing a kiss with her.

He took a deep breath, then fearfully let out the words he'd never had the courage to say to her before. "I love you."

"_You do?!_" Kairi gasped loudly in both disbelief and great joy. She almost thought her ears were deceiving her. The boy she'd secretly loved for so long had just confessed he had the same feelings towards her. An enormous smile grew across her face, which was now glowing luminously in her euphoria.

Surprised by her reaction, which was nothing for him to fear, Sora grinned softly at her and nodded. "I do. I absolutely love you so much."

Extremely delighted by what she was hearing, Kairi hurled herself onto Sora again. She clung onto him lovingly by enveloping him in another hug. Now that she knew he felt for her the same way she did for him, there was no need for her love for him to be kept unknown any longer.

"Sora..." she said, holding him tightly in her arms, "...I love you, too!"

It was Sora's turn to let out a gasp over what he was being told. He gawked down at the beautiful girl who was joyfully embracing him. It was hard to believe she had for him the same feelings he had for her. His arms reached up to hug her back, butterflies dancing in his stomach again.

"You really love me, Kairi?" he asked elatedly.

Kairi pulled back slightly to face the boy and nod up at him - before leaning in to press her smiling lips against his. Sora's surprise doubled as his cheeks flushed burningly again, but he instantly welcomed the new kiss, which he didn't hesitate to return. He held the love of his life affectionately in his arms, his lips curling into to a smile as they brushed hers.

Their second kiss lasted for just over a minute before it finally came to an end. They reluctantly pulled away from one another, but remained in the warm embrace they were sharing. Kairi gazed up at her hero. She felt as though she could cry over how happy she was. She lost herself in his sparkling eyes, unaware Sora was also feeling like he could break down in tears over the elation he was in.

Very gently, the spiky-haired boy placed a hand on the girl's cheek, caressing it tenderly. "Will you be mine forever?"

"Of course I will..." Kairi nodded slowly, feeling her heart beating faster due to what the boy had requested of her. "I'll be yours forever, Sora ... if you'll be _mine_ forever, too."

The grin on Sora's face broadened. He nodded eagerly to let Kairi know he would be more than happy to be hers forever. He pulled her closer into the hug he was giving her. At long last, his wish to be the one Kairi loved had become true. _No, wait! _he thought, correcting himself. _It's been true all along. I just wish I'd told her I'd loved her sooner so that we could've been together sooner!_

"Merry Christmas, my love," he whispered happily to her.

With her cheeks turning bright red again, Kairi beamed more brightly over what Sora had just called her. She rested her head onto his shoulder, relaxing contentedly in his arms. "Merry Christmas..._my_ love."

Neither of them had any idea as they held each other that they were not alone in the cave. Everything they'd just said and done under the mistletoe had been picked up by somebody standing nearby without them realizing. A pair of blue eyes was watching them from within the tunnel. They belonged to a person who was keeping himself hidden behind the curve inside it. He'd been there since Sora and Kairi of them had noticed the mistletoe above them. He'd kept completely silent so they wouldn't realize he was there - but he'd also made sure not to miss a second of the two lovers kissing each other.

Satisfied with what he'd just witnessed, Riku grinned to himself as he watched his two best friends embracing one another. _I knew my plan to trick them into getting under a mistletoe together would make them confess their feelings at last, _he thought cheerily. _Merry Christmas, you guys. Merry Christmas indeed._

* * *

**Well, that's the story. Thanks for reading it, guys. I'm sorry if it's not that original, as I'm sure having Sora and Kairi under a mistletoe has been done so many times on here already. Nonetheless, I hope you've enjoyed my take on such a scenario. **

**I also hope you guys have a wonderful Christmas and it goes well for you all. Merry Christmas! And for those of you who don't celebrate it who read this story regardless, I hope you enjoy what you're celebrating, too. :)**

**Later, guys!**

**Peace out!**


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